14 Unsynchronized
by Denise Felt
Summary: A crashed interceptor near Moonbase yields unexpected cargo.


14. Unsynchronized (A UFO Story) written by Denise Felt copyright 2001  
  
ACT I  
  
The night air was cool on his face as he stood behind a tree, his gun at the ready. He wasn't too concerned about the present crisis, because he knew that Alec was on his way. All they had to do was hold out until then. He smiled at Laura as she glanced over at him from where she was behind another tree. She was so magnificent, he thought. A lady, and yet so much more.  
  
Straker caught a glimpse of red out of the corner of his eye and signaled to her to look to her right. As she did, he heard gunfire and felt himself falling. He was hit. His side felt on fire, and he couldn't prevent a sharp cry at the pain. As he lay on the ground, gasping for breath, he could see an alien come forward to grab his legs and begin pulling him into the trees. His body would not function as he tried to kick free, and he realized in horror that he was going into shock.  
  
Suddenly, he heard Laura's shout. He looked back and saw her break cover to help him. Her gun fired repeatedly, and the alien dragging him fell. But Laura was completely out in the open. "Laura," he croaked, his voice barely audible, "don't!"  
  
But she kept coming, her face a determined mask. She was almost to him when she was hit by a volley of gunshots from the other alien. The sound of the bullets as they ripped through her flesh was overloud in the silence of the woods. Laura dropped and lay unmoving. Even from where he lay, he could see where a bullet had pierced her forehead. Her eyes were open, but saw nothing.  
  
He realized that he was crawling toward her only when the searing pain in his side broke through his numbness. His hands grabbed tufts of grass to propel himself forward, since he could feel nothing from his chest downward. He heard a steady moaning sound and did not know that it was coming from him until he reached her and it stopped. More gunfire was heard, but he hardly cared as he struggled into a sitting position and lifted her head onto his lap. He was crying. He knew, because it made it difficult to see her beautiful face clearly. He blinked rapidly to clear his vision. And froze in horror.  
  
It wasn't Laura's dead face that stared up at him, but Sheila's.  
  
"No!" Straker sat straight up in bed, gasping for breath. It took him a few moments to realize that he was home and in bed. As he looked around the room, trying to get his bearings, he could feel the pain in his side lessen as the nightmare faded. Sheila! Where was Sheila?  
  
He started to climb out of the bed, then relaxed as she entered through the adjoining nursery's door. She sent him a soft smile at finding him awake, then frowned as she came closer to the bed. "Ed," she said, putting a hand on his tense arm. "What is it?"  
  
He took several deep breaths, trying to allow his heart rate to slow to normal. But he was shaking and couldn't seem to stop. With a soft cry, he pulled her onto the bed and held on. Her arms went around him in return, and they sat there for some minutes before his grip lessened. "Where were you?" he managed to say.  
  
Sheila ran a hand through his hair, brushing it back from his forehead. "I was putting Andy down after nursing him. What happened, Ed?"  
  
He sighed, beginning to relax at last. "It was nothing. A nightmare. It's okay now." His voice was closer to normal, but his fingers kept running up and down her arms restlessly.  
  
She leaned in to hug him. "I'm sorry, honey. Would it help to talk about it?"  
  
He shook his head. "No. It's over now. I just want to forget it."  
  
"Okay." She stroked his back, feeling how tense his muscles were, and knew that if she didn't do something, he wouldn't be able to sleep the rest of the night. Ed had never had a nightmare before to her knowledge, and she had a pretty good idea what might have brought this one on. He was still feeling the backlash of that UFO incident she had been involved in. She would bet on it. So she nuzzled his neck and said, "I'm glad you're awake."  
  
He relaxed against the pillows and let her massage his shoulders and upper arms. "Oh?"  
  
She grinned at him. "Sure. In fact, I was going to wake you up when I came back to bed."  
  
He gave her a small smile. "That would have been a first."  
  
Sheila nodded, knowing that he was right. She never woke him once he was asleep. She knew how much he needed every hour he could get. But she said now, "Marriages are full of firsts, Ed. That's the fun of them. And I really needed you to be awake for me tonight. Thanks for making it easy."  
  
He groaned as her kneading became sensuous and slow. "Sheila," he murmured.  
  
She kissed him, a deep drugging kiss that woke him quite thoroughly. Then she began raining kisses down his neck and shoulders while he tried to capture her mouth again. She giggled, her dark eyes laughing at him as she continued her torture. "No, Ed. I'm determined to reach my goal tonight."  
  
He bit back a moan and said, "Which goal is that, Sheila?"  
  
Her tongue flicked out, and he jerked as she licked a spot on his chest. "My goal to kiss every inch of your body."  
  
"Sheila." All the tension of the past several minutes shifted into passion at those words. "Hmmm," she said as she kissed her way down his chest. "I don't know how it is, Ed, but I always seem to get sidetracked before I get all of you covered." Her eyes twinkled up at him for a moment. "Why do you think that is?"  
  
"I don't know." He was finding it difficult to breathe, and his hands kneaded her shoulders involuntarily.  
  
She chuckled softly. "Well, this time I think I might just do it." She glanced up at her husband after a few minutes to see that his eyes were nearly closed, their deep blue clouded with passion. There was no sign of the haunted expression he had worn earlier, and she laughed in triumph, kissing his navel.  
  
He shuddered and pulled her up to kiss her grinning mouth.  
  
* * *  
  
"But you can't go now! The council meets in three days, Ed. What about the project?"  
  
Straker put the files away in his cabinet and said, "It can't be helped, Alec. We've got to check out the problems we've been experiencing on Moonbase. One or two glitches, I can accept. But we've had far too many in the past two weeks, and it makes me nervous."  
  
Col. Freeman frowned. "You think it might be sabotage?"  
  
Straker grimaced. He not only thought it, he knew. But since he was the one who had engineered the trouble in the first place, he didn't share that knowledge with his friend. "I don't think it's gremlins, Alec."  
  
"Well, okay," Freeman conceded. "But send someone else. Me. Or Paul. You've got too much on your plate at the moment to be taking off for Moonbase."  
  
"I can't, Alec. I'm not even sure what I'm looking for there. And I won't know until I've seen it for myself," Straker said. "But I've taken care of the project, so don't worry about that. Lt. Ford and Morita will be presenting the proposal to the council. And they'll do a better job than I can, because they know all the ins and outs of the thing."  
  
Alec's frown did not lighten. "It doesn't sound like you to leave it in someone else's hands like that, Ed. What do you think is going on at Moonbase?"  
  
His friend gave him a straight look. "I have no idea. But I intend to find out."  
  
Freeman poured himself a glass of bourbon from the dispenser. "You haven't been up to Moonbase for longer than a day since you got married, Ed. And I, for one, know why. How do you think Sheila's going to take it when you tell her that you're going up there for a week? Without her?"  
  
Straker smiled for the first time since their conversation began. "Actually, Alec. I was thinking of taking her with me."  
  
* * *  
  
"Hello, Mrs. Williams. Is Emily here?"  
  
Edith opened the door and let the visitor in, trying not to seem too surprised at the sight of her. She said, "Let me just get her for you, my dear. Have a seat."  
  
"Thank you."  
  
The older woman went upstairs and knocked on her niece's bedroom door. "Emily?"  
  
Emily opened the door and frowned at her aunt's expression. "What is it, Aunt Edith?"  
  
Her aunt compressed her lips slightly. "You have a visitor. A Maloran visitor, Emily."  
  
Emily wanted to groan. Oh, damn! It was bad enough that her aunt and uncle had met Callista at Ed's wedding. She'd gotten a few questions about it, but had pretended ignorance for the most part. But this! She couldn't very well pretend ignorance about Morita, especially since Emily had mentioned her name to them before. Sometimes, she really wished she lived on her own. "Thanks, Aunt Edith. I'll be right down."  
  
Her aunt headed downstairs without another word, and Emily sighed before following her. Family could make things so difficult at times!  
  
"Morita!" she said as she came into the living room. "Where's Tobiah?"  
  
Her friend smiled. "He's at Sheila's. She's having him help her in her greenhouse today."  
  
"I'll bet he enjoys that," Emily said, sitting on a chair Indian fashion.  
  
"Anything to get dirty," his mother sighed. Then she smiled ruefully. "But I felt the same at his age, so I can't argue."  
  
Emily chuckled. "Does he still think their house is a castle?"  
  
"Oh!" Morita blushed slightly. "No. We went to Kenilworth Castle this last weekend, and he's realized the difference."  
  
Her friend noted the blush, and her brows raised. "You must have been feeling brave to drive him to the Midlands, Morita."  
  
"Actually, Keith took us in his Spyder," Morita said.  
  
Emily giggled. "So, it's not just a car, it's a Spyder, huh?"  
  
"Stop!" Morita said, blushing furiously.  
  
Emily relented. "Oh, Morita! It's just so cool that you guys are seeing each other. I'm so happy for you that I could burst!"  
  
Morita smiled. "He's so kind, Emily! And he talks to Tobiah as if he were a man instead of a boy. It makes me want to cry sometimes to see them together."  
  
"Has he asked you anything important yet?"  
  
Her friend frowned. "Well, yes. There's the deal about the project coming up. We're doing the presentation together for Straker."  
  
Emily rolled her eyes. "That's not what I meant! I meant, important! You know, like permanent between the two of you."  
  
"Oh." Morita shook her head. "No, he hasn't said anything about that." She took a deep breath. "I'm almost afraid of when he does."  
  
"Morita! If you dare tell him no after everything I've done to get you guys together, I'll smack you!"  
  
Morita giggled. "Oh, Emily. I won't say no. It's just... He's so wonderful, and I don't know how to handle everything I feel about him sometimes. It's so much bigger than I am that it scares me."  
  
Emily sighed. "Ain't love grand? Listen, Morita. One thing I can promise you is that once you're around him every day, you'll need to remember how wonderful you think him now. Because men are no picnic to live with!"  
  
Morita laughed. "Yes. I remember Succor. He always left his clothing on the floor and food crumbs in the bed. He made me want to scream at times. But he had his good points too." She sat forward and said earnestly, "Emily, I feel badly about taking Keith from you."  
  
"Are you kidding?" Emily said. "You did no such thing. He was never interested in me as more than a friend, Morita. Don't be silly!"  
  
"It's just that..." Her friend frowned and looked at her closely. "I wish I knew of someone for you, Emily. Then I wouldn't mind being so happy with Keith."  
  
Emily grinned. "Oh, no! I'm not ready to settle down. I'm glad I haven't met Mr. Right yet. I'm having too much fun checking out all the Mr. Wrongs."  
  
Morita giggled. "You are not a good girl, Emily!"  
  
Emily gave a crack of laughter. "Come on now, Morita! Don't tell me you're surprised?"  
  
* * *  
  
"Hey, Speedy! Get the lead out, old boy, or I'll leave you in my dust!"  
  
John chuckled into his microphone as he buckled up in the cockpit. "Hell, Greg! I can run rings around you in this thing without ever going above idle."  
  
His friend's voice came back swiftly on a laugh. "Big words, fly boy! Big words!"  
  
John revved the engines of the sleek new I-5 and listened to their purr for a moment. Then he grinned. "And you'll eat every one of them, Greg. See if you don't!" he said as he lifted off the pad. After a moment, he radioed Moonbase. "Control, this is the I-5, preparing for test run in Grid 27 Blue. Please confirm."  
  
Gay's voice came over the speaker in his helmet. "Confirmed, I-5. Proceed."  
  
"Roger."  
  
"And, John," she added, her voice losing its brisk tone. "Have a care."  
  
He grinned. "You got it, love. I-5, out."  
  
* * *  
  
"Is there something you'd like to tell us, Emily?"  
  
She turned to the door and bit back a groan. When Uncle Jasper looked like that, she knew she was in trouble. She sat up on the bed where she'd been reading her tattered volume of The Sword in Anglo-Saxon England: Its Archeaology and Literature. "What is it, Uncle Jasper?" she asked, stalling for time.  
  
He came into the bedroom and sat on the steamer trunk at the end of her bed. "My dear, your friend is a very pretty young woman, but we could hardly miss the fact that she is Maloran. Would you like to tell me where you met her?"  
  
"At work," she said, then sighed at the look he gave her. "Look, Uncle Jasper. I can't tell you what you're wanting to know. It's not information that's available to the general public."  
  
He frowned. "Not even to your family, my dear?"  
  
"I'm sorry," she said, and hoped that he realized just how sorry she was to leave them out of the loop. But orders were orders, and she understood the need for enforced secrecy. Even though she trusted her family.  
  
Her uncle sat back with a nod. "Very well, Emily. We'll let that go for now, because I can see that you feel it necessary to keep certain things to yourself. I can only hope that someday you'll change your mind and share them with us."  
  
As she breathed a tiny sigh of relief, he continued. "However, I am very concerned about a different matter and felt it important enough to talk to you about it."  
  
"What?" she asked, more than willing to change the subject.  
  
"Emily, you refused the teaching position at the university that Dean Bailey was holding open for you. Now, no matter how many times I consider it and from whatever viewpoint, I cannot come up with a logical reason why you would do such a thing. Perhaps you would like to tell me your reasons, so that I'll understand."  
  
She closed her eyes for a moment. Any subject but this one, she thought. "Uncle Jasper, I appreciate the dean offering me the position, but I'm not ready yet to work at the university. I like what I'm doing now."  
  
His lips tightened. "You mean, acting and the rest that you do at the studio."  
  
"Yes. It's great work, and I'm enjoying it very much. I can be a college professor anytime. This is more important to me now."  
  
Jasper looked sternly at her. "I never thought I would hear my brother's daughter say such things. We were leery when you started working on that writing team at the studio, but we let you. After all, you were with friends and it didn't interfere with your studies. But then you began working longer hours, and doing some acting as well. Don't get me wrong, my dear. Your aunt and I have been very pleased to see you on the telly. But we had hoped that you understood that it was not serious work. But I see that your head has been turned by all the attention you've been getting. Tell me this, Emily. Do you intend to waste all the knowledge that you've been studying all these years to learn? Because I can assure you that your casting directors and such won't care what you know about history as long as you know your lines."  
  
She turned away from him, not wanting him to see her tears. How could she ever hope to make them understand that her job was more than playacting? That it involved history; not dry facts about ancient armies, but military history in the making! Exciting stuff that she was fortunate to get to be a part of in her own small way. How to tell them that she used her historical knowledge every day to work out scenarios and battle plans for campaigns that hopefully they would never have to fight? That her extensive knowledge of alien races and their military tactics was helping keep Earth safe? She didn't know how to explain it to them in words that weren't classified. So she simply said, "I'm sorry if I disappoint you, Uncle Jasper. But I'm not quitting my job."  
  
He sighed. "I see." He stood up slowly, and she could see that she had hurt him. She almost reached out a hand to him, but knew that it wouldn't help. It would only make him think she had changed her mind. He turned to her at the door and said, "I hope that you'll understand that we are only concerned about your wellbeing, Emily. We have contacted your parents. They should be arriving here sometime next week. Perhaps you will find it within you to share more with them."  
  
He left the room, closing the door quietly behind him. Emily sat on the bed, feeling more alone and miserable than she had ever felt in her life.  
  
ACT II  
  
He had music playing softly on the stereo system when she returned from putting Kathy down for the night. Sheila raised a brow as she entered the study. So, he was in that kind of mood, was he? She grinned and crossed the room to where he sat near the windows. Then she realized what song it was on the stereo. Fly Me to the Moon.  
  
Her steps faltered, and she met his serious blue eyes. "Ed?" she whispered, her heart pounding loudly in her ears. Could it mean...?  
  
He motioned to the matching chair close to where he sat, and she sat down gratefully, her legs shaky all of a sudden. "I have to go to Moonbase, Sheila."  
  
She nodded and said, "Yes. I see. The problems with the equipment. It's pretty serious, isn't it?"  
  
He sighed. "I need to be there to deal with it. It's just not something that I can delegate to someone else."  
  
"I understand, Ed. It's all right. I'm just thankful that the equipment on Moonbase 2 hasn't been having similar trouble."  
  
"We've been lucky. But the base isn't even operational yet, Sheila. If we catch the problem now while it's still confined to Moonbase, hopefully we won't run into a similar problem with 2."  
  
"When do you go?"  
  
"I need to leave in the morning. I'll be gone about a week; hopefully no more than that."  
  
She nodded again, her eyes concerned as she met his. "Do you think it's sabotage?"  
  
He grimaced. Why did everyone insist on using that word? "I won't know until I check it out for myself, Sheila."  
  
She swallowed. "Okay." Then she grinned at him. "I'll miss you, you know. Say hi to the girls for me."  
  
He'd been waiting for that grin. "Actually, I was wondering if you'd like to tell them yourself."  
  
Her eyes widened in shock. "Ed?"  
  
He smiled at her from his armchair. "Would you like to go with me, Sheila?"  
  
She searched his face intently. "Do you mean it?" she whispered.  
  
He lifted a brow, enjoying her surprise. "Would I tease you about something like that?"  
  
She shook her head. "But you've always..."  
  
"Do you want to accompany me, Sheila?"  
  
"Yes." Her heart was pounding loudly and her throat was locked tight, but she was going to remain calm if it killed her. He had obviously considered all the angles before asking her, so it would be useless to question his decision. And if he finally trusted her enough to keep herself alive on Moonbase, who was she to argue with him?  
  
He eyed her closely, noticing how tightly her hands were clenched together. It suddenly dawned on him that she might be afraid of returning to the scene of her capture. He'd been so buried in his own fears for so long that it had never occurred to him that she might have similar ones. He frowned. "It's all right if you're not ready. Do you need more time to get used to the idea, Sheila?"  
  
"No." She stood up and came over to him, kneeling on the floor in front of him. "I want to go."  
  
He understood then that what she meant was, she needed to go. Unlike him, Sheila had always preferred to confront her fears head-on. "Good." He ran a hand over her luxurious hair. "I'm going to need your expertise to help handle this situation, since you know those computers inside and out. Can you be ready to go in the morning?"  
  
She nodded, thinking hard. "Sure. Callista's been begging for a chance to keep the kids for us. I wonder if she'll be able to handle a week? The only problem may be making sure I pump out enough breast milk to hold Andy for a while. He's a thirsty little bugger."  
  
His hand continued to stroke her hair. "There's another flight in a few days. Perhaps we could send down more then if we need to."  
  
She grinned at him. "Good idea." Then she sighed, laying her head against his legs. "You're so wonderful," she murmured softly.  
  
He said nothing, and the room was silent for a while as he ran his hands through her hair, soothing them both. Finally she looked up at him with a frown. "What is it, Sheila?" he asked.  
  
Then he caught the twinkle in her eyes. "Oh, Ed! What will I wear?"  
  
* * *  
  
"Hey, wait up! You're trying to make me look bad."  
  
John laughed into the microphone in his helmet. "They don't call me Speedy for nothing, you know! I guess it's my dust you'll be eating, huh, Greg?"  
  
"We'll see about... Hey, John! What's that? Do you see it? Off to the left about 20 degrees."  
  
John looked. And cursed. "It's a UFO! Guess our test just got cancelled, Greg. I'll alert Moonbase." He flicked the switch to open communications. "Moonbase, this is the I-5. We've got a UFO sighting at 281.736 Red. Are you reading it?"  
  
Gay's voice came over the speaker. "Negative, I-5. Our radar is clear. It's up to you two." She sounded worried, and John knew why. Without the assistance of Moonbase's computers, it was going to be tricky trying to get the targeting exact.  
  
"Roger, Moonbase. Changing course now to intercept. I-5, out." He spoke to Greg in the other interceptor. "Tracking it, Greg?"  
  
"Yeah, Speedy. But you'll reach it before I will. Good luck!"  
  
"No problem. Shall I leave a piece for you to fire at?" He grinned on hearing his friend's laugh. Then his expression turned grim as he approached the UFO. "Adjusting controls for targeting," he told Moonbase. "Setting firing sequence. Firing missile." He relaxed momentarily after the missile exploded, then cursed under his breath. "Moonbase, detonation was positive, but UFO is only damaged." He spoke to Greg. "Get it, buddy! It's all yours."  
  
"You got it, Speedy!" his friend answered with a grin, thinking how much John would be upset that he had missed that UFO. Well, what were friends for?, he thought as he set the firing sequence for his missile.  
  
He never felt the blast that ripped his interceptor apart.  
  
* * *  
  
"Sheila!"  
  
Sheila ran to her cousin from the doorway of the reception sphere. "Gay!" They hugged, both of them aware what a triumph this was for Sheila to be here.  
  
There were tears in Gay's eyes as they released each other. "I'm so glad you're here!" she said. "If anyone can figure out the problem with the computer systems, it's you."  
  
Sheila laughed, blinking back her own tears, and flicked a finger through Gay's wig. "Hey, Ed!" she said over her shoulder to her husband as he entered the sphere. "Do I get to wear one of these again?"  
  
He smiled softly at her. "Of course, Sheila. I hope you packed something to go with purple?"  
  
* * *  
  
"Son-of-a-bitch!" He jammed the gears into high, racing after the UFO as it sped away from the moon. If that alien asshole thought he'd get away from this interceptor, he was in for a big surprise. The I-5 had been built for speed. And no one--- no one--- outraced Speedy! His heart hurt as he thought about his friend and the nickname Greg had always called him, but he didn't let it deter him. Instead, he allowed it to fuel his fury. And his determination. This sucker wasn't getting away!  
  
"Moonbase, this is the I-5 in pursuit of the UFO. I'll be out of radio range in a moment, but don't worry. He won't get away from me."  
  
"John! Turn around and head back to base. There's nothing more you can do."  
  
"Negative, Moonbase. I'm not coming back until I have some good news to tell Greg's fiancee." He broke off communications before she could say more, knowing that if he had to hear her pleadings, he would indeed turn around and head home. And he couldn't do that. Not until he'd settled the score. He upped the throttle a bit more to keep pace with the retreating UFO, his face grim and set.  
  
Suddenly, he frowned. What the hell...? Where had the stars gone? His confused senses didn't even grasp what he had stumbled upon until the UFO in front of him was swallowed up into the black. Shit! The air inside the interceptor was blued by his curses as he banked sharply, trying to avoid the same fate. The hull groaned ominously at the strain, but he kept the angle as steep as it would go, desperately trying to reach the edge of the wormhole before it took him to the other side of the galaxy.  
  
It seemed like forever before he could see the stars ahead of his cockpit, but just as he let out a soft sigh of relief, he felt the I-5 buck and go out of control. The g's threw him back into his seat so fiercely that he couldn't move, and he was only vaguely aware of the stars blurring past him as he blacked out.  
  
ACT III  
  
Sheila ran her fingers through his chest hair, a thoughtful expression on her face. "You know, Ed. That was another first."  
  
He smiled and rubbed her back, following her thoughts without difficulty. "For both of us."  
  
She grinned and rested her chin on her hands. "We should celebrate. Make it a special day on our calendar or something. December 15. The first time we made love on the moon."  
  
His chuckle vibrated through her hands on his chest. "We'll have to write it down. We wouldn't want to forget such a momentous occasion."  
  
"That's what I was thinking." She was silent for a while, but he could see the wheels turning in her pretty head. He could hardly wait to see what she'd say next. One of the delights of his life was hearing what went on inside her wicked little mind. He didn't have long to wait this time before she told him. "You know, Ed. We've got that neat zero g room for simulations in Level U2. Wouldn't it be cool to...?"  
  
Her musings were interrupted when the alarms went off. Straker was sorry about that. He'd been very interested in hearing the rest of that thought. As they quickly dressed, he winked at her. She had the best ideas. They would definitely have to try out that room while they were here.  
  
* * *  
  
"What is it, Lieutenant?"  
  
Gay turned toward the door as Straker and his wife entered the command sphere. "We have a sighting, sir. It's on a collision course with the lunar surface."  
  
Straker went to the radar. "Collision course?"  
  
"Yes, sir. It's going much too fast to possibly keep from impact. Much faster than anything else we've ever tracked."  
  
Sheila laid a hand on her husband's arm. She could feel his tension and realized that he was worried about what the aliens were up to. She was aware that he had expected them to try something while she was here, but he had surely been expecting a more direct approach. She started to say something, but was interrupted by Joan's voice at the console.  
  
"Commander, the UFO is reducing speed." She watched the screen carefully as he came over to her.  
  
"It's still too fast," he decided after a moment. "They'll never get it slow enough to keep from crashing. How close to Moonbase will they get, Lieutenant?"  
  
Gay checked the trajectory. "About twenty-five miles away, sir, on its present course."  
  
He nodded, thinking quickly. "Have Interceptor 1 standing by. We're going to want a look at the wreckage as soon as possible."  
  
"Yes, sir." She shared a glance with her cousin as she got on the microphone to the interceptors. She too knew that Sheila's presence on Moonbase meant that anything could happen. And like the commander, she was worried because this situation didn't make any sense. How could the aliens accomplish anything by crashing miles away from Moonbase? What were they up to?  
  
Lt. Harrington spoke up after a moment. "Impact on the lunar surface, sir. Coordinates, 307 Green."  
  
Straker turned to Gay. "Launch Interceptor 1."  
  
"Interceptor 1, immediate launch!"  
  
Minutes later, they were still waiting in tense silence to hear from the interceptor pilot when the speaker crackled and a voice was heard. "Moonbase, this is the I-5. I'm in moderate to bad shape here. Shit!" The voice broke off for a moment, then said, "I've got a fire in the cockpit and may have to abandon ship. Do you read me, Moonbase?"  
  
Gay glanced at the commander in shock, stunned at the unexpected voice over the radio and confused by the vague familiarity of it. The commander was looking a little white, and the hand he put on the top of the console trembled slightly. He nodded for her to answer. She said into the microphone, "This is Moonbase. We read you."  
  
A sigh came through the static. "Mom! Thank God! Listen, don't tell Dad just yet, but the I-5 isn't looking her best right now. Can you send out a Mobile for me, love? I'll explain everything when I get back."  
  
Sheila's hand had returned to her husband's arm, but her frowning gaze was on Gay, who was looking bewildered. Straker's voice was a little hoarse when he said, "Tell him we're sending out a lunar mobile, Lieutenant."  
  
"Yes, sir." She swallowed and said into the microphone, "We're sending out a mobile now. It should reach you in a few minutes."  
  
"Thanks, Mom. I appreciate you not making me walk all the way back to Moonbase. I know you're a bit upset with me. See you in a few."  
  
Gay spoke to Lt. Bradley aboard Lunar Mobile 1 and gave him the coordinates. But her expression was still confused when she turned back to the commander. "Sir? Who is it?" she asked, still troubled by that slight familiarity she'd caught in the voice. As well as the reference to herself as Mom.  
  
Straker's lips tightened as he shook his head. But his eyes met Sheila's for a moment, and Gay could see that they knew something that they were not sharing. She almost spoke, although she had no idea what she would have said, when the speakers crackled again.  
  
"Moonbase, this is Interceptor 1. I have visual contact. God! It looks like... You're not going to believe this! I think it's one of ours! I'm sending back a photo now."  
  
Straker grabbed the photograph as soon as it came out of the slot and looked at it closely. His face was very white, his jawline tight as he handed it to his wife. He spoke into the microphone. "Thank you, Interceptor 1. Return to base."  
  
"Yes, sir."  
  
He gave Gay a grim look. "Get me Lt. Bradley."  
  
* * *  
  
"Lt. Bradley, this is Commander Straker."  
  
"Yes, sir." Mark grimaced as he drove the mobile over the lunar surface. Identification was hardly necessary. He'd have known that hard voice anywhere, even in his sleep.  
  
"There is a survivor from the crash. I want you to bring him back to Moonbase with you, no questions asked. Do you understand me, Lieutenant?"  
  
"Yes, sir." Although Mark had several questions right now. Such as, why was his commander welcoming some alien intruder into their midst? Especially with Sheila on Moonbase? But he had worked for the man long enough to follow orders without worrying too much about questions. Straker always knew what he was doing.  
  
But when he topped the rise and got a good look at the alien ship, he found that he suddenly had a lot more questions. It was half-buried in the soft lunar sand of a crater, only part of its cockpit and its tail end visible. But it was not a Thoelian ship. It was an interceptor. Sleeker than it should be and scarred black in places, but definitely of Earth design. What the hell?  
  
Then he spotted the pilot. He was walking toward the mobile, waving to get their attention. And suddenly Mark wanted to meet this guy in the worst way. If only to get a better look at that spacesuit. He glanced at his copilot in the mobile with raised brows, then opened the door for the man to climb aboard.  
  
* * *  
  
"Lunar Mobile 1 is docking now, sir," Gay told him as he stood looking out the window at the surface.  
  
Straker turned to her. "Thank you, Lieutenant. He will be disoriented most likely, and he could use a familiar face. Will you please meet him when he arrives?"  
  
"Yes, sir," she said.  
  
He turned to his wife. "Sheila, I..."  
  
She shook her head. "It's all right, Ed. I understand. Why don't I go and meet him with Gay? I'll let you know how it goes, okay?"  
  
He sighed deeply, glad that he did not need to explain anything to her. "Thank you."  
  
As they left the command sphere, Gay asked her, "Who does he think it is, Sheila?" Sheila gave her a grim look. "Someone who's not supposed to be here, Gay."  
  
"Are you in danger?" her cousin asked, then realized that the commander would hardly send Sheila to deal with the man if he was a danger to her.  
  
No, Sheila thought, but Ed is. If it's who we think it is. Dear God! How tortuous can those Thoelian bastards be? But she already knew the answer to that question, so she sighed and said aloud, "I'll be fine." And hoped fervently that her husband would be, as well.  
  
There was no time for further conversation as they reached Central Park. Lt. Bradley was already in the room, looking a little stunned. The other mobile pilot went off to the leisure sphere, not feeling up to dealing with this situation. The blonde man who entered the room a moment later was young, in his late twenties perhaps, although his eyes looked older. But those eyes! Gay gasped, feeling faint as those piercing blue eyes met hers. How...?  
  
Suddenly he grinned, his lean face lighting up as he came forward. "Mom!" Then he stopped, frowning as he searched her face. She was far too young to be Gay. "Mom?"  
  
"Hello," she said, swallowing hard, reeling from the questions that raced through her mind. He thought she was his mother? Good God! Then the commander...? The shudder that went through her was purely feminine and made her ashamed of herself. Damn it, Sheila was her cousin!  
  
He was looking around Central Park, his eyes narrowed and his lips tight. "What's going on here? First, seeing Col. Bradley. Now, you. What is this?" He didn't wait for an answer, but turned to the only person in the room that he didn't recognize. "Who are you?" he barked, sounding very much like his father.  
  
"I'm Sheila," she said, searching that lean, handsome face for a moment. "Welcome to Moonbase. John, isn't it?"  
  
He nodded, looking her over with a piercing gaze. Long dark hair and liquid brown eyes. He almost smiled. Damn, she was a stunner! In spite of himself, his eyes softened slightly as he said, "Where am I? Am I dead?"  
  
"I don't think so," she said with a small smile. She recognized the look in his eyes and stifled a giggle. This is no time to get hysterical, Sheila, she told herself sternly. "But if you'll come with me to the MedLab, perhaps we can find out."  
  
He nodded and followed her into the corridor without a word. He looked back once to see Mom --- no, not Mom--- still standing in Central Park, watching him with a frown on her lovely face. His heart twisted in him. Mom! What's happening?  
  
ACT IV  
  
"Hey, Doc!" Finally. Someone who hadn't changed! John grinned at the doctor as he entered MedLab with Sheila.  
  
Dr. Fraser turned to him with a frown, his eyes widening at the sight of the young man addressing him. He was practically the image of the commander. Only younger, of course. He glanced at Sheila, hoping for enlightenment.  
  
"Dr. Fraser," she said. "This is John Straker. I'm sorry," she said as she turned to him. "I don't know your rank."  
  
"Lieutenant," he said crisply, realizing from the look in his eyes that Fraser didn't know him either. How could a man forget the patient who'd kept him busy these past several years? "Number 1815," he added for clarification, although he didn't think it would help. Wherever he was, it wasn't home. Some hellish version of it, perhaps. He hopped onto the examining bed, vaguely reassured by its familiarity.  
  
Sheila told the doctor, "The commander will want a full work-up, doctor. Including fingerprints."  
  
Fraser raised his brows, but only said, "Certainly. Am I to look for anything in particular?"  
  
She knew what he was asking and sighed. She didn't think the doctor would find any evidence of alien tampering, and that was both a relief and a worry. But the tests had to be run anyway. "Yes. Check for any interference with normal brain patterns, the rest. He'll want it all."  
  
John began to get angry at the implication, but when he met her eyes, he saw the apology in them and relaxed. He knew all too well that his father would want everything down in black and white before proceeding in this situation. And for the first time, he realized that they were all as dumbfounded as he was about all of this. "Have you told Dad about me yet?"  
  
She gave him a long look. "He knows."  
  
His brow lifted at the terseness of her answer. "And?"  
  
Sheila sighed. "He'll speak to you once the tests are finished."  
  
"You mean, he's here? On Moonbase?"  
  
"Yes." She turned to the doctor. "As soon as possible, doctor."  
  
Fraser sighed. When was it ever otherwise? "Yes, Colonel."  
  
As she went to leave the MedLab, John asked her, "About Mo--- Gay. I saw a ring on her finger. Is she married?"  
  
Sheila gazed at him for a moment from the doorway, then said quietly, "Yes."  
  
"To Dad?"  
  
"No." She swallowed and said, "To a wonderful man named Michael. Perhaps you can meet him later."  
  
John frowned. "Then Dad's not married?"  
  
"He's married."  
  
Again the enigmatic answer. Damn, he thought. She was as tightlipped as his father! "To who?"  
  
He was amazed at the smile that transformed her face. It was like watching dawn breaking in the east. And it stirred him as nothing had in a long time. "To me," she said and left the room.  
  
* * *  
  
Straker didn't sleep. He couldn't. And he had not even tried. After talking to his wife, he had simply come to the office that was always set aside for his use when he was on Moonbase and worked on the mound of reports that awaited him.  
  
Or at least, tried to work on them. But he found his attention wandering. Often.  
  
John. Sheila had said that she didn't think he was a Thoelian trick. She felt that the young man they'd rescued from the downed interceptor was truly his son. Lt. John Straker. Number 1815. He swallowed painfully. 1815. SHADO's latest recruit had been Major Capra three months ago, and his number had been 1109. Of course, Sheila had told him that John had looked to be about twenty-seven, and if that were true, he came from the year 2002. SHADO might easily have that many operatives by then. Especially once Moonbase 2 was fully operational. And God knew what other bases and outposts they might have by the year 2002!  
  
He ran a weary hand over his face, tired of the circles he kept racing in. It didn't matter whether Lt. John Straker was actually number 1815 or not among SHADO's personnel. What mattered was that he didn't belong here. Not only in this time. But in this SHADO. What quirk of fate had sent him here? To a different universe altogether? To a universe where he had not lived to adulthood? To a universe where his father had allowed him to die?  
  
He buried his head in his hands, letting the grief out before it tore him to shreds. If he had learned anything from his wife since their marriage, it was that emotions had to be released. Or they would fold and twist inside themselves until they sucked a man into complete darkness. Sheila had survived a monster's torment by venting her anger. Miraculously, she had remained sane throughout all of it, only once allowing the darkness to take her under. But she had even used that to her advantage. And she had lived to fight another day. He was constantly amazed by her strength of will. He had wondered at times if he could have survived as well in similar circumstances. Probably not, since he was more inclined to internalize everything until it got too great to bear.  
  
But he had to face his son soon. Once Dr. Fraser finished the tests, John would be released. They already knew that his fingerprints matched those of Straker's son. That had been the first information they had gotten from the doctor. The rest would be forthcoming in the next few hours. He wondered what they would learn from the tests? And how were they going to deal with the results?  
  
He couldn't say. But he had to be calm when the time came. And objective enough to handle the situation. Too much depended on him to make the right decisions. To protect SHADO and Earth against any foe. Even if that foe was his son.  
  
* * *  
  
"Ready?" she asked quietly.  
  
Straker nodded, taking a deep breath before entering the sphere. He kept a hand firmly in his wife's, needing her strength and her calm badly right now. He was braced for anything, but the young man who turned from the window looked so much like him that he blinked in shock. My God, he thought. Is that how John would have looked as an adult? "Lieutenant," he said.  
  
"Sir." John's heart sank at the sight of his father, looking so much younger than when he had last seen him. Younger, and somehow different. But just what that difference was he couldn't tell while his emotions were in such upheaval. He had hoped--- against all the evidence--- that when he saw his father, he would be the same as the last time John had seen him. A rock to cling to in this sea of insanity in which he found himself. But this man, although undoubtedly his father, was not the man John knew. It was obvious from the expression in those blue eyes so similar to his own. There was a flicker of recognition, but hardly what it should have been between two men who had known each other for nearly thirty years. Straker seemed almost diffident, as if he expected his son to be angry with him.  
  
John straightened, but he didn't salute. His father hated such things. Instead, his hands went behind his back as he stood at attention in a mannerism so reminiscent of his father that Sheila had to bite back a gasp. "Lt. John Straker, sir, number 1815, reporting for duty."  
  
Straker sighed. "Have a seat, Lieutenant," he said as he sat on one of the chairs. He released his wife's hand, but she remained close, standing just behind him.  
  
"Thank you, sir," John said formally and sat down. He gave his father a direct look and said, "I suppose the tests came back okay?"  
  
"Yes. I'm certain you understood the need for them."  
  
John sighed. "Yes, sir."  
  
"Can you tell us what happened, Lieutenant? How did you end up here?"  
  
John wished he wouldn't be so formal, but knew that his father always reverted to formality whenever he was unsure of where he stood. And although John would really have liked a hug or even a smile right now, he was quite aware that neither of them were very sure of themselves at the moment. So he took a breath and said, "I think it was the wormhole, sir."  
  
"Wormhole?"  
  
John ran a hand through his white blonde hair in a familiar gesture and explained. "Greg Maddox and I were test running the new I-5 against our old interceptor to see how well she would go."  
  
Straker interrupted. "Maddox?"  
  
"Yeah. Steve's son. He's been with SHADO about five years." Suddenly he frowned. "Or he will be. Whatever." He looked at his father. "What year is this anyway?"  
  
"December, 1988."  
  
John sat forward. "Really? God! I'd be--- what? Thirteen?" He shook his head, bemused by the thought for a moment. Then he continued his story. "We spotted a UFO that wasn't tracking on Moonbase's radar, so we had to deal with it by ourselves. Naturally, without the computers, we couldn't target as accurately as we would have liked, and my missile only slightly damaged it. Greg never got the chance to fire his. The aliens shot down his interceptor."  
  
Straker was silent, hearing not only what his son was saying, but everything between the lines, as well. Obviously, his universe did not have the Solarian technology from Michael Sarek that helped SHADO's interceptors target UFO's without assistance from Moonbase. He wondered what other differences they would discover. It would almost be intriguing. If it hadn't hit so close to home. "Was your interceptor damaged?"  
  
"No. I went after the UFO as it veered off, heading away from Earth." John shrugged. "I knew the I-5 could track it for a while, at least until it went past the speed of light. She's pretty fast. Anyway, next thing I knew, the sky had disappeared up ahead and the UFO was swallowed up into a wandering wormhole. We knew about them, of course, and that some regions of space were pocketed with them. But no one to my knowledge has ever encountered one before. And since I had no idea where it would deposit me once I went through it, I banked to avoid going in."  
  
"Did you go in?" It was the first time Sheila had spoken since entering the room, and John looked at her for a moment in silence before answering. It was not his father's policy to have others present during a debriefing, and he wondered why she was here for this one. It irked him the way she seemed to hover over his father almost as much as it bothered him that his father seemed to welcome it.  
  
"No. I think I ricocheted off the edge of it. I remember seeing the stars and thinking that I'd cleared it. But then I felt the I-5 buck and tear off back the way I'd come. I don't know how fast I was going, but I know I blacked out for a bit there. When I came to, the moon's surface was in my face, and I had barely enough time to brake before I hit. There was no way to stop her, though. She was just going too fast."  
  
Straker nodded. It was a miracle that John had even survived such an ordeal. And a tribute to his skill as a pilot, no doubt. He felt an unaccustomed swelling in the area of his heart and realized with a shock that it was pride. He had to clear his throat before asking, "When did you figure out that you were not where you were supposed to be?"  
  
John grimaced. "Well, I wondered a little why an old lunar mobile had been sent out after me, but I think I really knew something was up when I came aboard and saw Col. Bradley."  
  
"Colonel Bradley?"  
  
"Isn't he?" John asked. Then he shrugged. "Well, maybe not yet, I suppose. Anyway, it threw me, because he's been dead for three years. At least, where I'm from, he has. He died when Moonbase was bombed by the aliens. We lost a lot of good people that day."  
  
"I'm sorry."  
  
"Sir," John said tentatively, "how did this happen? I mean, I know that time travel is theoretically possible, although improbable. But how did I end up in an altogether different world?"  
  
Straker sat forward. "I don't know for certain. You've definitely traveled back in time, since it is 1988 and you're obviously not a teenager. But I've learned that what we refer to as time travel is actually dimension travel. Which makes better sense in light of Einstein's equations. You've gone back in time, yes. But you've also skipped dimensions, ending up in a kind of parallel universe."  
  
"God! That's just theories! I mean, it's fun to talk about the possibility of such a thing happening, but surely it couldn't really happen? Could it?"  
  
His father spread his hands. "You're here, aren't you?"  
  
John pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose. "Okay. So, what you're saying is that I've somehow jumped dimensions and landed in another timeline from my own."  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Then, how do I get back?"  
  
His father looked at him in silence for a moment, absorbing the pain those words caused him. He understood his son's desire to return to his own world, his own life. But it was just so wonderful to see him. Alive and well. And so obviously a part of his father's world. It was more than he had ever dared dream in those years when he had still cherished dreams about his son. And yet, here he was.  
  
Except that he didn't belong here. Straker sighed. "I don't know how we could possibly get you back to where you belong, John. It's a miracle that you survived the first time."  
  
John had to swallow hard at hearing his father address him by name. "But how can I stay here? I mean, I've heard all the horror stories about meeting yourself and all that. And I can tell you that I have no desire whatsoever to meet my younger self. I don't want to suddenly go poof and disappear into some nether region."  
  
Straker sat forward. "You wouldn't, John. In this universe, you died when you were eight."  
  
John blinked in shock. After a moment, he said slowly, "Eight? When I got hit by that car?"  
  
His father nodded, unable to say anything past the sudden lump in his throat. He felt Sheila's hand come to rest on his shoulder and relaxed slightly. God, he was so glad she was here!  
  
John frowned at her familiarity, but did not comment about it. He said, "What happened? Why did I die?"  
  
Straker took a deep breath. "The medicine that might have helped you didn't reach you in time."  
  
"Really? In my world, it did."  
  
His father closed his eyes for a moment, closer to breaking down than he had been since entering the room. His hand crept up to cover Sheila's where it rested on his shoulder, and he drew strength from the contact. "I'm sorry, John." You have no idea how sorry.  
  
John stood up suddenly and went to the window, looking out over the lunar surface toward where Earth shone so blue and white. Anywhere but at his father. And his father's wife. "And Mom?" he asked tersely.  
  
"Your mother took it very hard, John."  
  
His son waved an impatient hand. "I don't mean her. I meant Mom. My stepmother. Gay. What about her?"  
  
Straker sat forward. "What are you wanting to know about her?"  
  
John turned a fierce face toward him. "Why didn't you marry her?"  
  
His father met his eyes calmly. "I would never have married Gay, John. I can't even imagine a scenario where I would have asked her to marry me. I'm sorry."  
  
John ran a trembling hand through his hair. "And Andy? And Fiona? What about them?"  
  
Straker took a breath, realizing with a shock that John was speaking about siblings. His children. And Gay's. "It will be difficult for you to adjust to an entirely different set of circumstances, John. I'm sorry for that. Please try to be patient, and we'll do what we can to help you deal with all of it."  
  
But John was beyond hearing him. He closed his eyes in pain. "Andy just started high school. And Fiona is going to the Olympics this year for trampoline." He remembered suddenly how he'd promised her he would be there to cheer her on.  
  
His father frowned. "Trampoline isn't an Olympic event."  
  
John looked at him. "It will be." He shook his head, feeling sick. "They'll think I'm dead, won't they?" Fiona. Andy. Mom. Even his father. God!  
  
"I'm sorry, son."  
  
John wanted to scream at him that he wasn't his son. That his father would have married Gay. Did marry Gay! Who the hell was this woman? This Sheila! And how could his father prefer her to Gay? He wanted to ask him. Wanted to demand his reasons. But what he said instead was, "What about Laura?"  
  
Straker was stunned. "What?"  
  
"Laura Simmons. Didn't you meet her? The woman of your dreams? The one whose picture you keep in your desk at HQ?"  
  
His father rose to his feet and said, "That's quite enough!" He couldn't believe his son was saying these things. He turned suddenly at the sound of the door closing and realized that Sheila had left the room. His heart sank, and the face he turned back to his son was taut with anger. And pain.  
  
John looked from his father's white face to the closed door and realized what he had just done. "God!" he whispered and sank onto the chair in shock. He ran a trembling hand over his face. "I'm so sorry, Dad! I didn't think. I just... but that's no excuse. But surely you told her about Laura?" When his father didn't answer, but only looked away from him, sitting back down on his seat as if exhausted, John gasped. "You didn't? God, Dad! Why not? You told Mom!"  
  
Straker had to try twice to get the words out. "That's unimportant. I'm more concerned with why you felt it necessary to bring it up in the first place."  
  
His son gave a deep sigh. "Because--- it was because of Laura that you married Mom. You told her that Laura had made you believe in love again. In life again." The room was silent for a moment, then he added, "I'm sorry, Dad. I was mad at you, and it just came out. But I never intended..."  
  
Straker stirred himself. "No, that's all right, John. Everything will be fine." He stood up, straightening his jacket. "Why don't you get to work on your report? Perhaps we can have dinner together later?" He waited only for John's nod before leaving the room.  
  
John sat where he was for a long time, feeling drained. He thought over the conversation, trying to understand all that his father had been telling him, as well as why he'd been so angry with him. It had to do with Sheila, he knew. But it was more than her presence alone that had infuriated him. It was something else. Suddenly he sat up, realizing what it was. When he had first seen his father, there had been something about him that had been so different from the man he knew. It had to do with the expression he had seen in his father's eyes, an expression that had never been present in the eyes of the man he called father. And he had realized instinctively that Sheila had been the reason it was there.  
  
It had been peace.  
  
* * *  
  
He found her after some searching. She was working, leaning over a low table that was covered in what looked like computer schematics. She was writing copious notes on a pad and glanced up when he entered the room, giving him a direct look. "Lost?"  
  
He shook his head as he headed for the coffee dispenser on the wall. "No." Then he stopped and looked back at her with a small smile. "Well, actually..."  
  
Sheila chuckled. ""Feeling a bit like Alice?"  
  
John looked blank for a moment, then caught the reference. "Yeah. Coffee?"  
  
"Yes, please," she answered, and he brought them both a cup.  
  
He sat back in the comfortable lounge chair across the table from her and sipped his coffee. "Actually," he mused, "That's not the right film. I feel more like Keanu Reeves in The Matrix. You know, finding out the world's not what you thought."  
  
Sheila frowned. "The Matrix?"  
  
"Oh. Um, I guess we haven't done that one yet." John shrugged. "Sorry."  
  
She grinned. "You're going to be a big help to your father at the studio. I can see that." She put down her pen. "I've been thinking about your situation, and I think if we're very careful, we may just be able to reproduce the circumstances that brought you here."  
  
He leaned forward eagerly. "Seriously?" Sheila nodded, taking a thoughtful sip of her coffee. "It would be dangerous, of course. Extremely so. After all, you could have easily died this time. But you might be willing to risk that if we could get you home."  
  
It wasn't a question, but he nodded anyway. "Anything!"  
  
She looked at him out of those dark eyes. "But that's the catch, you see. We can't guarantee you'd end up at home. It fact, the odds against it are astronomical. You're much more likely to end up in another universe altogether." She gave a small grimace. "Although that may be preferable to where you find yourself now."  
  
John sat back, thinking hard. Then he met her eyes and said, "Not really. It could be worse."  
  
"Oh?" She was interested in finding out what he would consider worse than his present situation.  
  
"Yeah. I could end up in a universe where Dad didn't exist."  
  
Her eyes widened in shock, and she drew an audible breath before saying, "That would be... intolerable!"  
  
He grinned. "I completely agree." Their eyes met, hers lighting up as she smiled, and he suddenly felt envious of his father. He squelched that response with a sigh. "Listen. I'm sorry for my outburst earlier. I didn't mean to hurt you."  
  
Sheila sat back, her head tilting to the side a bit as she considered him. "Didn't you?"  
  
John had the grace to grimace. "Okay. Yeah. But not like that! I mean, I thought you already knew about her. It never occurred to me that Dad hadn't told you."  
  
"Because you knew about her?"  
  
He nodded. "And Mom, too. She knew from the first. He didn't tell me about Laura until we had our long talk about girls when I was fourteen."  
  
"That must have been some conversation."  
  
He chuckled when he saw the twinkle in her eyes. "It was hilarious! If you can imagine Dad, all serious and reserved, you know? Trying to explain the ways of the world to me." He was lost for the moment in remembering, a soft smile on his lean face, and Sheila found herself chuckling as she tried to imagine the scene.  
  
"It's a shame you didn't get it on videotape. Or, better yet, take me back with you to your universe and we'll go back in time far enough that I can witness it myself."  
  
John laughed outright. "I'm not sure what Dad would make of you if you went back with me." Then he sobered, gazing at her intently. "I don't think he ever met you."  
  
She said, "I'm fairly certain that he didn't, John. You see, Gay's my cousin."  
  
His eyes widened. "Cousin? Oh, man! So that's why Dad said that he wouldn't have thought of marrying Mom! He sounded so damned sure of it that it pissed me off."  
  
"Well, from his point of view, he was sure. Ed would never allow himself to get involved with someone that close in relationship with me."  
  
"No. Of course, he wouldn't. It would be like marrying your sister or something." John frowned deeply. "Mom never mentioned you."  
  
Sheila shrugged. "We didn't grow up together. It's quite possible that she never knew about me. Or perhaps, I died young or was never born."  
  
That would be a shame, he thought, finding in her a spirit kindred to his own. She had a certain untamed quality in the back of her eyes that echoed his own restless heart. Why hadn't his father ever told him that there were women like this out there? Maybe he'd have thought of settling down sooner. But then, his father hadn't known, had he? He asked, "When did you meet Dad?"  
  
Sheila sighed, not really wanting to go there. But he had unexpectedly opened up to her, and she wasn't willing to end this rapport that had sprung up between them. "A long time ago. Before you were born."  
  
He caught the somber note that had entered her voice and met her eyes for a moment. "I see." And he thought he did. If Dad had met Sheila while still married to his mother, then perhaps she had indeed had reason to suspect him of philandering.  
  
"John." Sheila waited until he looked back up at her, then said, "I hope you know that your father would never have gone out on your mother."  
  
After a minute, he nodded. But he was thinking how hard the situation must have been on both his father and Sheila. Especially since his parents hadn't divorced until he was five. How had they managed to deny the obvious bond between them that long? Dad, he thought, you're a better man than I am, Gunga Din.  
  
"Listen, Sheila. Have you and Dad been married long?"  
  
"A year and a half."  
  
"Really?" He was surprised. Why had they waited so long after the divorce? But he didn't want to ask. "Any kids yet?"  
  
She smiled. "Yes. Kathy is one, and Andrew is three months."  
  
He blinked. "You have been busy." But he didn't say anything more about that. "So there's still an Andy, huh?"  
  
"Yes. I hope that you'll eventually want to meet them, although I'm aware that you may need some time to adjust first."  
  
"Oh, no," he said with a grin. "Not a bit. I'd love to meet them."  
  
Just like his father, she thought wistfully, swallowing the lump in her throat. "John, I'm so sorry about your family."  
  
He saw the compassion in her eyes and had to resist the urge to lay his head on her shoulder and cry. But as much as he liked her, she was not his mother. And he doubted if he could ever think of her that way, in any case. She was just too young and too gorgeous. And too similar to what he suddenly knew he wanted in a woman. So he took a deep breath and said, "Thank you. It's just so hard to accept that I'll never see them again. That they're out of my reach. That they think I'm dead. That's the hardest part. I don't like to think of Mom crying over me. Or Dad either."  
  
"They'll never forget you, John. Nor will you forget them. Sometimes, that has to be enough."  
  
He looked closely at her, hearing the conviction in her voice. She met his gaze directly, allowing him to see in her eyes that she knew what she was talking about. He wondered who she had ever had to live without, but again did not ask. Her beautiful eyes held occasional shadowed depths, and he wasn't sure why, but he didn't want to venture too far into them. Sometimes, he knew, it was better not to look too close.  
  
And it still bothered him that he had hurt her. "Sheila, I'm really sorry about going off about Laura like that."  
  
She sat back, smiling slightly. "That's all right, John. Did you think I left the room because I was angry with you?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
He sounded so much like his father expecting a quarrel that she had to hide a smile. "Well, I wasn't. I left because I could see that I wasn't helping the situation between you and your father. And you needed to talk."  
  
He frowned. "You mean, you're not mad about it?"  
  
"Not with you," she said and chuckled when he grimaced. "And your father will tell me about her now, if only to make it up to me. So, I'm actually in your debt."  
  
John laughed, relieved to see that twinkle in her eyes. "Maybe. But will Dad see it that way?"  
  
"If he's smart, he will. You know, John. You may have saved his life today."  
  
"Oh? How's that?"  
  
She grinned. "Well, left to himself, your father would probably have chosen to tell me about Laura at a much later date. Say, at our fiftieth wedding anniversary or something." John snickered. "If he had, I would have killed him right there," she mused. "Probably with the knife for cutting the cake." Her grim look lightened back into a grin as she said, "So, you see? He has you to thank that he'll survive his fiftieth wedding anniversary."  
  
He realized something. "You're really pissed at him, aren't you?"  
  
She shrugged, leaning back in her chair. "I suppose. But I do understand his concerns, John. And why he hasn't said anything about her to me before now. It's not an easy situation to explain, even to yourself." She was silent a moment, thinking about it. Then she said, "But we'll deal with it. Why don't you have dinner with us tonight? That way you can see for yourself how your father has weathered the storm."  
  
John chuckled. "He already asked me."  
  
She lifted a brow. "And your answer?"  
  
"I wouldn't miss it."  
  
ACT V  
  
"Is there something you'd like to tell me?" she asked when he came into their quarters.  
  
Straker shrugged out of his jacket, stalling for time. She didn't look angry. Which he hoped was a good sign. He was never quite sure with Sheila. But she seemed relaxed as she sat on the bed, going through some paperwork. He took a breath. "Yes. Actually, I've been wanting to tell you about her for some time, Sheila. I guess I just haven't known where to begin."  
  
She ran a hand through her hair and sighed. "Well, I'm glad that you at least wanted to talk about it, Ed. But that's not what I was referring to. I'm talking about this." And she held up a sheaf of papers.  
  
He blinked in surprise. "What is it?"  
  
"These computer readouts," she said, tossing them back onto the bed. "If there's a saboteur, Ed, it's someone who has extensive knowledge of the systems involved, as well as an uncanny knack for fouling up a computer while still leaving it operational. Now, from what I've gathered so far, the entire scenario points to a very devious mind at work. And it just so happens that I know someone whose mind fits those particular devious patterns. Want to guess who it is?" Straker sighed and sat down on the bedside chair. "I think I know."  
  
"Well?"  
  
He grimaced. "I wasn't sure that you'd figure it out, Sheila. And certainly not this quickly. But I should have remembered how much you enjoy unraveling puzzles."  
  
"If that's a confession, Ed, then I think it needs some work."  
  
He almost smiled. "I'm sorry. It was necessary to engineer a crisis on Moonbase to account for my non-appearance at the council meeting." At her raised brow, he added, "It was Shaw's idea. He felt that I was too emotionally involved with the project because of what happened to you and Paul."  
  
"Hmmm. And emotions have no place in a boardroom."  
  
"Yes. And since we need that new satellite system desperately, I agreed to remove myself from the picture. So to speak."  
  
She asked, "Was there a particular reason why you couldn't share this information with your wife? At least enough to save her the trouble of hours of climbing around inside computer innards?"  
  
"It had to look believable, Sheila. And although I realize that you could have faked a certain enthusiasm for the hunt, it was better over all to have you unaware that it was a snipe hunt."  
  
She compressed her lips, fighting an urge to giggle. She had to remind herself that she was angry with him. "It is well for you that Dee wasn't the one you assigned to figuring this out."  
  
Straker grinned. "Why do you think I brought you?"  
  
"Oh, ho!" she exclaimed, pushing the papers onto the floor as she lunged for him in the chair. "Those are fighting words, mister!"  
  
He caught her and pulled her onto his lap, his grin spreading from ear to ear. "Still love me?" he asked as he caressed her thigh.  
  
She swatted his hand. "Quit that! No! You're a fiend! A devious fiend! And I won't... Oh, Ed!"  
  
His blue eyes glittered darkly as he lifted her into his arms and laid her on the bed. "This fiend would like the chance to make it up to you. That is, if you'll let him."  
  
Sheila wasted no time with words, but showed him in no uncertain terms that she forgave him.  
  
* * *  
  
"Cool music!"  
  
Nina grinned and gestured for him to sit on a nearby lounge chair. Usually when she was playing her music, everyone stayed away. "It's Sheila's group, Chopped Liver. This is their newest CD."  
  
"Whoa! Hold up!" he said, picking up the CD and looking at the cover. It read One Step Closerand sure enough, Sheila was there, wearing a tight red leather catsuit and a blindfold as she walked straight toward the edge of a cliff. "This is Sheila? Dad's wife?"  
  
Nina lifted a brow. "Sure. Why does that surprise you?"  
  
"Are you kidding?" John wasn't just surprised; he was flabbergasted. "Dad married a rock star?"  
  
Nina laughed. "Well, when you put it like that..."  
  
"How else can you look at it?" he asked.  
  
She shrugged. "She's so down-to-earth that I tend to forget that she's anything more than just Sheila. But I suppose she is one of a kind."  
  
John frowned and looked back at the cover for a moment, admiring that catsuit. "I hope not," he said fervently.  
  
* * *  
  
"Sheila," he said, stroking her hair as their heart rates slowly returned to normal. "You knew about Laura, didn't you?"  
  
She stirred on his chest and said softly, "I'm not sure how to answer that. Yes and yes, I suppose, would be the best answer."  
  
He thought about that for a moment. "Explain."  
  
She sighed. "Well, I've known about Laura Simmons for a long time, although I had no idea she meant anything to you. She is talked about quite a bit on the lots, especially on 7 where Encounters is shot. And Buck has told me a few stories about her as well. She sounds like she was a wonderful woman."  
  
"She was. And your other yes?"  
  
Sheila looked up at him. "Well, from what you didn't say I was able to piece together a few things about her. One, she liked daffodils. Two, she had something to do with the Solarians' first survey team, although I haven't been able to figure out what. And three, she was your third lover and you loved her very much."  
  
Straker gave a deep sigh, but did not stop stroking her hair. "I'm sorry about the daffodils, Sheila. I appreciated the thought. Really, I did. But it seemed so wrong somehow to have that remembrance of her there in our garden. It was as if I was being unfaithful or something."  
  
She traced obscure patterns through his chest hair, saying after a moment, "I can understand that. But you could have explained, you know. Instead of letting me feel like a fool."  
  
He shook his head. "Sheila, if anyone's the fool in this relationship, it's me. You've been absolutely incredible all along, and I don't deserve the love that you give me."  
  
"Now you're being silly," she scolded him. "Love isn't something you have to deserve, Ed. If it was, the world would be an awfully lonely place. Was she your reflection?"  
  
"Reflection?"  
  
"Yeah. Your feminine equal?"  
  
He gave her a stern look. "You've been talking to Paul."  
  
She settled onto his chest, her chin on her hands. "Was she?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"And that's why you were so bothered about how I felt about Paul, wasn't it? Because of how you felt about her?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Are you feeling better about that now?"  
  
He met her eyes. "About Paul? Yes. About Laura? I don't know. That's just it, Sheila! I don't know. It's so difficult to quantify a feeling. And I don't know if I can."  
  
"No one's asking you to, Ed. Did you think I would demand that you love me more than her? Is that what you've been afraid of all this time?"  
  
"Surely it matters?"  
  
She shook her head, a soft smile on her face. "Oh, Ed! You've been torturing yourself for nothing. The human heart is a vast place. You're certainly capable of loving more than one woman in a lifetime. And loving each one to the fullest extent of your capacity. Life really is a complex and dynamic thing, Ed. It's never as simple as we'd like to think."  
  
He searched her face, unsure what she was trying to say. "You don't mind about Laura, Sheila?"  
  
"Mind?" She sighed, resting her chin back on her hands. "Yes. I mind that you wouldn't talk about her to me, locking me out of that area of your heart when I thought I had free access. I mind that you involved others in your campaign of secrecy, making me feel an outsider. And I mind that you didn't trust me to understand something that you well knew I was experiencing myself. Those things I minded, Ed." He swallowed, not having a word to say in his defense. After a moment, she continued. "But Laura herself? No, I don't mind her. I wish I knew more about her. The concept of a female Ed Straker boggles my poor little brain. But I can't really be jealous of a woman who is dead. Especially since I know that I win."  
  
He was startled. "Win? What do you mean?"  
  
She gave him a soft smile. "Ed, no matter how much you love her, she's gone. And I'm the woman you married. I'm the mother of your children. And I'm the one who intends to cut the cake with you on our fiftieth wedding anniversary. (Which you'll survive, by the way. You'd better thank John sometime for that.) Anyway," she continued, in spite of the fact that he was starting to look confused, "time is on my side. And in the end, you'll love me the most, because I was here and she wasn't. I'm the one whose life is intertwined with yours. See? It's rather like you and Paul. I married you, not Paul. So our love grows, while what I feel for Paul stays the same."  
  
He stopped stroking her hair and ran a finger down her cheek. "How did you get to be so wise?"  
  
She grinned. "I had some inside information. You know, Ed. You ought to talk to your dad more often."  
  
Straker looked surprised for a moment, then he said, "Sheila, about the photo in my desk at HQ that John mentioned. It hasn't been there for a long time."  
  
She cocked her head to the side and gave him a long look. "Not since we were married?"  
  
He met her eyes. "Yes. How did you know?"  
  
Sheila grinned. "You have a very organized mind, Ed. Everything has its place."  
  
He was silent for a while, digesting that. Then he asked tentatively, "Is that a good thing?"  
  
* * *  
  
"Your medical report shows some traces of genetic alteration."  
  
John looked up from his food. "Oh. I guess you wouldn't know about that, would you? It happened three years ago, after the fiasco on Moonbase. I was there when it was bombed, you see. And I was injured pretty badly."  
  
"Mortally?" Sheila asked in concern.  
  
"Yeah. But Dad, I mean my dad, took me to New Malora, and they not only patched me up, they also enhanced my immune system. It seems that Malorans and Terrans aren't really genetically compatible, which is why I always had so much trouble with being allergic to everything."  
  
Straker frowned. "They've been researching that question ever since we met them a few years ago. But they haven't reached any conclusions as of yet. You're saying that there's a definite incompatibility?"  
  
"Yes. But they were able to compensate by making my immune system stronger. It's been great. I haven't been sick a day since!"  
  
Sheila thought for a moment, then told her husband, "Maybe you'd better talk to Keith. I have a feeling that information might be important to him in the near future."  
  
Straker grimaced. "Thanks. I can just see myself bringing that subject up, can't you?"  
  
"He'll take it better from you than from anyone else, Ed."  
  
He sighed. "Very well. I'll see what I can do. John, does your universe have a second Moonbase?"  
  
John nodded. "If we hadn't, more of us would have died after that attack. They were able to get us into triage and stable enough to be transported back to Earth. But I don't think our Moonbase 2 is quite like the one Nina showed me specs for. Yours is bigger, for one thing. And the computer systems are more advanced."  
  
"I see." Straker ate in silence for a few minutes, then asked, "When did you join SHADO, John?"  
  
"After my stint in the RAF. I was looking for something that would be more exciting, more combat-oriented; so you recruited me for SHADO. You weren't too keen on the idea to start with, but Mom convinced you that it would be better if I was working for you than for some other crazy outfit."  
  
"You spent a lot of time with us growing up?"  
  
"Oh, yeah. Actually, Mom talked you into getting joint custody of me shortly after you got married."  
  
Straker frowned in thought. "And how did that go?"  
  
John grimaced. "How do you think? It was awful! But two years later, we went back to court and made it full custody, so that took care of that problem."  
  
"Do you ever see your mother, John?" Sheila asked in the ensuing silence.  
  
He nodded, taking a sip of his coffee. "Yeah. I go visit her every Mother's Day and Christmas. And it's a pain. But if I didn't go, I'd hear about it."  
  
"From your mother?"  
  
He grimaced. "From Dad!" He slanted a look at his father. "But I guess I don't have to do that any more, do I? I can't very well drop in to the house in London and say, Hi, Mom! How's it going? She'd have a coronary."  
  
Sheila grinned. "Well, I'm sorry that you weren't close. But I'm glad that you stayed in touch with her, John. She is your mother, after all."  
  
He gave her a stern look. "You know, sometimes you sound just like Dad!"  
  
She laughed, sharing a glance with his father that said much more than words could ever hope to. John saw how his father's face softened when he looked at her and felt a pang of jealousy. But whether that jealousy was on behalf of his stepmother or on his own behalf, he couldn't say. But he wanted to have that kind of love someday for himself. That much was certain.  
  
He suddenly had a thought. "You know, Sheila? I think I know what movie I'm in. It's The Time Machine with Rod Taylor! Where he keeps going into the past and future, but finds out that things are the same in every era. Like the old joke: what is the most important thing that man has learned from history?"  
  
Sheila grinned as she answered. "That man doesn't learn from history. Yeah. I've seen that movie. It was a classic for its time, wasn't it?"  
  
"Yeah. And speaking of classics," he said, pushing aside his food tray to set his arms on the table. "What's this I hear about you being the lead singer in a rock band?"  
  
* * *  
  
"Uncle Alec! Wow, you're looking good! And Paul! Look at you, on your feet and everything!"  
  
Alec met Paul's eyes and shrugged, then came forward to shake hands with Straker's son. It was so odd to see him, far older than he would have been if he had lived, and looking so much like Ed had at that age that it was uncanny. But it was good to hear that he still called him uncle. "Hello, John. That was some stunt you pulled up there."  
  
John looked at his father, who had followed him into the HQ office, and said, "Yeah. Hey, they don't call me Speedy for nothing! I guess I must have been going at least SOL 10 before I managed to pull out of it."  
  
Straker's lips tightened, but Paul said, "You were lucky to have survived that."  
  
"Well, I wish I could tell Violet how great the new spacesuits work at those speeds, but it doesn't seem as though I'm going to get the chance."  
  
"That's all right, John," his father said as he sat behind his desk. "We are more than happy to benefit from her lack of knowledge."  
  
John grinned. "You know, that might constitute some kind of time paradox or something. Maybe I shouldn't have handed the thing over to your teams."  
  
Straker lifted a brow and said, "I wouldn't worry too much about it, John. After all, that's hardly the only gift you brought us."  
  
John gave a crack of laughter. "The I-5! Yeah, well. She's in pretty bad shape. But, hey! If you get her running again, I won't complain. She was a sweet ride, I can tell you that. Handled like a dream!"  
  
Paul smiled, but asked, "Who's Violet?"  
  
"Oh." John's smile was a little sheepish. "She, uh, works in R & D."  
  
Alec chuckled. "Know her well, do you?"  
  
"Now, Uncle Alec! Of course, I do. Wasn't I your star pupil? I like to think that I've grown up just like you."  
  
Straker bit back a chuckle at his friend's horrified expression. "Well, Alec. It seems that you and I need to have a talk."  
  
"Now, Ed..." Alec began, getting flustered. But then he saw the laughter in Straker's eyes and sighed with relief. He went to the dispenser, realizing that he just might need a drink.  
  
"So, why were you surprised that I'm on my feet?" Paul asked the young man, intrigued to meet this ornery version of his uptight boss.  
  
John sat down on one of the chairs in front of the desk. "Well, the last time I saw you, you were still in a wheelchair. Although they have hopes of reversing the paralysis with an experimental surgery they were going to try this spring." He frowned for a moment. "Gee, I hope it works."  
  
Paul had to swallow hard before asking, "How did I get in a wheelchair?"  
  
John ran a hand over his face, then smiled and accepted the glass Alec handed him. He took a drink and winced. Whiskey. Ugh! But it cleared his head. "You were involved in a UFO incident back in '88. Oh! I guess that was this year." He frowned at Paul as if looking for a wheelchair somehow hidden behind his back. Then he went on. "You were shot and placed in one of their damned cryo chambers to be taken back to their planet. But Capt. Masters shot them down before they got out of the atmosphere. They found your pod and got you out, but you were in rehab for a long time. And the bullet that pierced your spine did more damage than they could correct."  
  
John looked around the room at their frozen expressions and said with an attempt at lightness, "But that incident obviously didn't happen, so it's no sweat! Right?"  
  
Paul poured himself a drink and downed it without speaking.  
  
Straker said quietly, "Actually, John. The incident did happen. Just not with those results."  
  
"Hey! That's great! You were lucky."  
  
Paul put his empty glass back on the shelf. "Yeah. Very lucky."  
  
Straker met his eyes and gave him a reassuring smile. Then he turned to his son. "It will probably be easier on everyone if you don't share too many stories about your world, John. Especially since there seem to be some major differences between our universes."  
  
"Actually, other than this, the only change so far has been that my world doesn't seem to include Sheila," John said. "But I see what you mean."  
  
Paul suddenly sat down at the conference table. "Sheila?" he asked, his face ashen.  
  
"John!" Straker said sternly.  
  
His son lifted his hands, saying, "Sorry! Not another word. I promise."  
  
* * *  
  
"Say, Dad. Can I check out the studio? I'd really like to see some of the stuff you're working on now."  
  
"Sure, John," Straker answered. "If you'll hold on a minute, I'll go with you. That way I can introduce you to everyone." He stopped writing after a minute and looked up at his son.  
  
John interpreted the look without any trouble. "Yeah, sure. Who are you going to introduce me as, Dad? Your long lost cousin? Nephew?"  
  
His father frowned. "No. That won't work." He looked over as the door opened and Sheila entered. "Darling, we need your help. Who is John going to be?"  
  
She sat down and looked from one to the other for a while, considering the problem. "Hmmm. That is a dilemma."  
  
John said, "Maybe a cousin?"  
  
She shook her head. "No. No one would buy that. Anyone looking at you both could see that Ed is just bursting with parental pride over you. And you have far too many of his mannerisms for your relationship to be believable as anything other than father and son."  
  
Straker said, "Then what do you suggest?"  
  
"It's simple. You have to be father and son."  
  
"But how?" John asked. "I mean, my mother for one knows that I'm not supposed to be twenty- seven, if she could ever be brought to believe that I'm even alive."  
  
"That's not what I meant, John," Sheila said. "You're going to have to be an older son. From Ed's wild early years at MIT or something."  
  
Straker looked skeptical. "What wild years?"  
  
Sheila shrugged, her eyes filled with that ornery twinkle. "Gee, Ed. I guess you'll just have to manufacture some."  
  
He brooded for a while about that. But John said, "Yeah. But won't my mother be understandably pissed at finding out Dad has a son he never told her about?"  
  
Sheila sat back with a grin. "Not if he just found out about you. Your mother's last wish or something, John. For you to meet your real father. Something syrupy like that. People will eat it up."  
  
"Yeah. But not without a mother! And Dad wasn't exactly Lothario, you know. He didn't date in college; in fact, not until the Air Force when Alec used to hook him up with some of his friends."  
  
Straker glanced up from his musings with a frown. "Let's not go there, all right, son?"  
  
Sheila and John shared a laugh. Then she turned to her husband. "Well, Ed! It seems that you really do leave out the interesting bits of your life story. Tell me more, John!"  
  
John grinned at her, but only shook his head. "Not a chance. I've already spilled enough beans. But I can tell you this, Sheila. I've finally figured out what movie I'm in. It's a Wonderful Lifewith Jimmy Stewart."  
  
Sheila winked at him. "It almost fits. Except we knew who you were from the start. Well, we have to come up with someone who your father knew long enough ago that she could be your mother, but not well enough that we'll run into problems using her name."  
  
"Nadine."  
  
"I still think we should use one of Alec's girls," John said, trying to get a rise out of his dad. Then he noticed that Sheila was looking at her husband with a frown.  
  
"Who, Ed?" she asked.  
  
Straker looked up from his musings. "Nadine. She'll work."  
  
His smile was much too soft for Sheila's liking. "Oh? And just who is Nadine, Ed?"  
  
John snickered, but his father was lost in memories and did not notice. "She was the reference librarian at the local college. She helped me with some rare books I needed for one of my summer classes. She had these enormous amber eyes that were absolutely mesmerizing. And soft brown hair. I haunted that place for weeks."  
  
Sheila chuckled, tickled at the thought of Ed having a crush. "Did you ever get up enough nerve to ask her out, Ed?"  
  
He shook his head, frowning slightly. "No."  
  
"Why not, Dad?" John asked.  
  
Straker looked up at him. "Scott. Her boyfriend."  
  
His son laughed. "And the quarterback for the local college's football team, I'll bet."  
  
"Yes. How did you know?" his father asked, then sighed. "He was built like a Mack truck."  
  
"Oh, Ed! You poor thing!" Sheila said, unable to stifle a giggle. John's shoulders were shaking silently as he tried to battle his mirth.  
  
Straker frowned at both of them. "You're not taking this seriously enough."  
  
"Sorry, Dad," his son managed, almost strangling with laughter.  
  
Sheila came to his rescue. "Well, Ed. I for one am taking it very seriously." She stood up and came around the desk to where he sat. "And I'm wondering what else about this Nadine was enormous besides her eyes?"  
  
"Sheila!" Straker said, turning red.  
  
"Well, I'm your wife, Ed," Sheila replied, unrepentant. "So I happen to be privy to all your little... quirks, shall we say?"  
  
John stood up before he fell out of his chair. "I think... I think I'll just go look over the studio grounds, Dad. Catch you later." And he left the room, still chuckling.  
  
Straker met his wife's gaze. She wore a haughty expression that was spoiled somewhat by the twinkle at the back of her eyes. "Well, Ed?"  
  
"I can't believe you said that, Sheila," he said. "And in front of John."  
  
She lifted a brow. "What? I'm sure you already spoke to him about it when you gave him that long talk at the age of fourteen, Ed."  
  
"I would not have said anything about it," he said firmly.  
  
She shrugged. "If you say so. By the way, what are you going to do when I stop breastfeeding, and I lose a cup size or two? Will you still love me as much as you do now?"  
  
"Sheila! For God's sake!" he said. "Come here!" And he pulled her onto his lap. "You know very well that I'll love you just as much."  
  
She sighed, running her hands through his beautiful hair. "But I know how much you like them this way."  
  
He grinned, but only said, "That's life, Sheila. Very little lasts forever, you know. A man has to enjoy the perks while he has them. " He reached over and engaged the doorlock on his desk.  
  
Sheila frowned at him. "What are you doing?"  
  
He settled her more comfortably on his lap and said, "What do you think I'm doing? I'm demonstrating my hypothesis for you. Now, pay attention and take notes. This is for research purposes."  
  
Sheila gave a soft gurgle of laughter that turned into a gasp. "Ed!"  
  
EPILOGUE  
  
John was still smiling as he walked across the lots. God, it was great to see his father embarrassed for once. He couldn't remember if he ever had before, which was a pretty good indication that he probably never had. It had been too priceless a moment to forget! Obviously, his gorgeous wife believed in keeping him on his toes. Good for her!  
  
He wandered the sets, heading always toward the old Notre Dame building as he went. There was someone he wanted to look up. She wouldn't know him, of course. Their affair had been in '98. But John remembered her very well. And he wondered how much fun it would be to know her now, in this time. Carol Reed. She'd been one of the leads in the sci-fi series Encounters for its entire six year run. And she'd starred in the movies that followed once the series ended. John had only gotten to know her well after the awards banquet where their third movie since the series had stolen the show. She had been flying high with excitement over the kudos she'd received. And he'd enjoyed sharing that flight with her. His grin broadened as he remembered. Yeah. It had been grand. He rounded the corner of the Notre Dame building onto Lot 7, wondering if she was as agile as he remembered her being?  
  
He stood back and watched as the rehearsal took place on the lot. His eyes lit up when he spotted her. Damn, but she looked good! It was going to be a pleasure getting to know her again. Especially since he knew several things about her that she had no idea he knew. Oh well, he thought. All's fair in love and war, after all.  
  
Gradually, he became aware of a tingling at the back of his neck, and his grin faded. He knew that feeling. He was being watched. He turned around swiftly, wondering who was eyeballing him. And why. What he saw made him gasp.  
  
She was slender, with the large eyes of a fairy or a pixie. That alone may have intrigued him, but she was not acting like a delicate fantasy creature. More like a rebel incarnate. Dark eyes glared at him out of a sharp little face topped by dark spiky hair. Her Marvin the Martian t- shirt featured the little alien stomping his feet and saying, Ooh! You make me so angry! And her small hands were fisted on her hips in a stance that dared him to come any closer.  
  
John raised a brow at her and watched in delight as her eyes grew even fiercer. Her pointed little chin lifted in a defiant gesture and he grinned, more than happy to accept the challenge. 


End file.
